Contributed by: InaGreendaseBrian(others by this writer | submit your own)Published on August 6th 2010There really is no definitive album in Jawbreaker's discography, but in that sense, Unfun may be just as crucial as anything else in their catalogue.
The spectacularly heralded, endlessly romanticized Bay Area punk band produced four full-lengths with so many widely ranging points of contention a.

There really is no definitive album in Jawbreaker's discography, but in that sense, Unfun may be just as crucial as anything else in their catalogue.

The spectacularly heralded, endlessly romanticized Bay Area punk band produced four full-lengths with so many widely ranging points of contention among critics and fans regarding the band's musical trajectory and career decisions, it's left no one album to claim as the band's essential. If you ask Allmusic, they'll tell you 1993's 24 Hour Revenge Therapy is tops, with 1995's Dear You and 1990's Unfun in close range. Ask Steve Albini and he'll call it a "decent, if standard pop punk record of the type that was pretty common in the mid-90s"--and he produced the fucking thing. And if you navigate to Pitchfork, you'll see they took the time to shit all overDear You--twice--before qualifying this recent reissue of the band's debut LP as "irrepressibly fun." Less jaded fans are probably prone to calling Dear You the classic; scene fixtures and musicians like Bob Nanna tend to place 24 Hour on said pedestal. In this reviewer's opinion, the band seemed to improve with every passing release (though the pronounced remaster on Unfun begs to differ the merits of said evaluation).

Still, though, trying to regard a place for Jawbreaker's first full-length within the canon of their catalogue seems near impossible, but that vague notion of status also makes it a little more vital to the full "Jawbreaker experience." In turn, perhaps that's what warrants a proper reissue of Unfun. Blackball's redux offers a remaster of the entire record, along with a bonus track--the 7" mix of "Busy." The band's 1989 EP, Whack & Blite, is here too, though it appeared on all original CD pressings anyhow. I don't believe the original 7" liner notes were replicated in the original Unfun booklet, however, and here they're represented for perusal in all their Xeroxed glory. Sound-wise, the remaster seems to add a little more "pop" to the overall mix; the percussive nuances are more distinct as well. As for the alternate "Busy" offered, Blake Schwarzenbach's voice seems a little sharper and the bass is turned up a bit, but it's largely not all that different.

Of course, the record itself has aged incredibly well. From Schwarzenbach's macadam-encrusted yelps on fan-favorite opener "Want" and the driven, emotional thrust on "Fine Day" that would hint at a career made on heartbreaking restraint, to the nimble, distortion-dipped fingering on "Busy" and Schwarzenbach's nasal, desperate commands on "Gutless" not to fall behind, its unfiltered, raw surge seemed relentless. Sure, the melodies were a little unrefined and the songs often stagnantly operated on the same rough, tumbling plane, but it still made for a bustling, impressive debut all the same. That it was a mere foundation for the ambitious, big hooks of 24 Hour and the polished moroseness of Dear You hardly hurts its relevance--Unfun was where they had the forward charge but still knew to occasionally proceed with caution. And hell, Whack & Blite closer, "Eye-5" was easily one of the most memorable songs in the front half of the band's catalogue, spiraling into an epic, sound clip-laden finish the band would rarely replicate in form for years.

So perhaps the minor bonus features here themselves are what makes Unfun just a little more essential, but the Jawbreaker chronology is still so overanalyzed and prodded at that missing out on any point could very well be remiss.

24 Hour Revenge Therapy... possibly the best pop-punk album of all time. There is no bad song on that album, and it flows perfectly. It goes with any mood or emotion.
Unfun is second, in my book, followed by Etc., Bivouac, and Dear You last. "I, I, I, I, I, I, I waaaaaant yooooou."

Love JTB also. It's actually sad how Schwarzenbach seems to need to retread his late teens and early 20's with his new bands rather than moving forward from Jawbreaker and Jets to Brazil. Thorns of Life was embarrassingly horrible.

Just listened to this the other night for the first time in a really long time,,, maybe about two girlfriends ago Long
It still stands just as it did before, and I will always love this record for the memories of listening to it at a much younger age and the the things I was doing at the time.
However, I have to say 24 Hour is probably the most seminal, Dear You is the more mainstream and polished, Bivouac the most eponymous, and Unfun the most punk rock. They just all hold there own in this whole, along with the live ep.

Jets To Brazil was amazing too.... Perfecting Loneliness is just about the perfect album they could have written.

I just... I just don't like Jawbreaker. At all. There was a point when I thought I might be on the cusp of being able to enjoy Bivouac, but it never turned into anything more, kind of like dating someone you just know you're never going to be comfortable having sex with. So I gave up.

Tried streaming this now, as I've never really given it a chance, and as soon as the vocals came in, I switched off. I just can't.

I'll understand if this upsets people, apart from that one guy who hates Jawbreaker. I'm sorry. I just don't have it in me!

Not only is 24 Hour the best Jawbreaker album, I think it should be in the conversation as one of the 10 best punk albums of ALL TIME. Unfun is great too though. Bivouac is definitely the most challenging listen of theirs. My guess is they'll reissue that one soon. Nicely written review!

Solid review; however I'm guessing if you took a poll, 24 Hour would blow all others away as to what people consider the "seminal" Jawbreaker release. That really jumped out at me as I've always thought there was zero debate about it.